Junior Hockey and Prep School Options

Deciding
on a Junior hockey or prep school league to play in might be more
difficult than meets the eye. The biggest thing to remember is that you
want to play at the highest level possible where you will get the
ice-time and opportunities to succeed.

Depending
on your age there are different options. After your son or daughter is
finished with minor hockey some choices must be made. The options differ
depending on your location and sex.

Men's Hockey

Men's
hockey options include Junior and prep/high school hockey. Within
Juniors there are different classifications: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3,
Junior 'B', and Junior 'C'.

Tier 1 hockey includes Canadian Hockey League (CHL), referred to as
Major Junior in Canada and the United States Hockey League (USHL). The
NCAA views the CHL as a professional league and therefore any player who
plays in this league is ineligible to play in the NCAA.

Players in the USHL maintain their eligibility and therefore the USHL
is the highest level of Junior hockey that sends players to the NCAA.

There are several viable options to play Tier 2 hockey all over North
America. Almost every province in Canada has a Tier 2 league that is
highly respected and regularly sends players to the NCAA.

In the USA, there are two Tier 2 leagues, the North American Hockey
League (NAHL) and the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL). Both of these
leagues routinely send players to the NCAA.

Tier 3, Junior B and C hockey leagues are all over North America.
These leagues do not send as many players to the NCAA as the Tier 1 and 2
leagues, but can be a great option to develop as a hockey player.

There is also the option to play prep or high school hockey.
Depending on your location the level of play can vary greatly between
these leagues. Many prep and high school leagues are highly respected by
college coaches.

Women's Hockey

In
the women's game of hockey, there are less options for leagues to play
in that will get you exposure to NCAA college hockey coaches.

For the most part, female players will play minor hockey until they
are a junior or senior in high-school (grade 11 or 12), at which time
they will pursue the junior route.

The Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) is played out of Ontario
and the Junior Women's Hockey League (JWHL) is the U.S. equivalent.

Depending on where people live they may not have the option of going
to Junior and just play midget hockey. Western Canada has strong Midget
leagues because there is very little junior hockey.

Other people choose to go the prep school route which is similar to the boy's side.

Women's college hockey coaches scout players from each of these
scenarios. Most of the D1 schools would focus mainly on the Prep school
and Junior leagues as it is typical to see most of the top end players
come from there.

The only league that may be in question of hurting eligibility is the
Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) which is a newly formed
'professional league'. The policies for paying players and the amateur
status of the players in the league is uncertain at this point.